Boycott the Fascist “Friends of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce” (SOPA)

In our society governed by the rule of law, we don’t allow stores to sell illegal goods, stolen merchandise or counterfeit products.

So, why do we allow rogue websites that rob Americans of their intellectual property and deal in illegal, fake and, sometimes dangerous goods to continue to cheat the American economy out of billions of dollars every year?

Currently, thousands of websites with billions of visits annually are dealing pirated music and software, counterfeited products and goods, knock-off pharmaceuticals and more.  This is all while skirting laws, dodging taxes and robbing the American economy of jobs that would be created by the legitimate creation and sale of these products.

Writing recently in the Daily Caller, former Senator Don Nickles highlighted the costs of these rogue actors:

“U.S. businesses of all sizes and fields lose $135 billion in revenue annually due to these sites, according to a study by brand protection firm MarkMonitor. The Institute for Policy Innovation estimates more than $58 billion is lost to the U.S. economy every year due to copyright theft alone, resulting in more than 373,000 lost American jobs, $16 million in lost employee earnings, and $3 billion in lost tax revenue.”

The dangers are more than economic — they’re physical and personal, too.  Some consumers have suffered serious health problems after ordering from deceitful online pharmacies.  Many others have fallen victim of identity theft or have had their computers compromised by malware from these sites.

Intellectual property is no different than your physical property.  It’s property protected by the U.S. Constitution.  Send a letter to your member of Congress to stand up to foreign thieves and protect American intellectual property right now.

The PROTECT IP Act would bring intellectual property laws to the 21st century and suspend services such as payment processing, advertisements and linking for these rogue websites.

The PROTECT IP Act is expected to come up for a vote very soon in the Senate. Email Congress today to encourage them to support this common sense bill.

In a society that protects the property rights of individuals, we cannot continue to tolerate such a blatant theft of economic and personal wellbeing.

Tell Congress to support the PROTECT IP Act today and visit www.fightonlinetheft.com to learn more.

Sincerely,

Rob Engstrom
Senior Vice President and National Political Director
U.S. Chamber of Commerce